Digimon Chronicles: The Digital Defenders
by Xxmaster
Summary: Years ago, four digimon were sealed away because of their vile actions. Recently, loyal servants have unleashed them and now the Dark Masters are back to regain their strength. A group of kids have been brought from Earth to delete them once and for all.
1. 1 Lance of Valor

Digimon Chronicles: The Digital Defenders

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**Episode 1: **Lance of Valor

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/_What a day_/ thought a teenage boy on his walk home from school. He was tall and his skin was dark-brown. He ran a hand through his brown hair as another searched the pocket of his khaki shorts for his cell-phone. The vibrations coming from it meant he had received a text message. He pulled it out and checked it.

/_Hmm, guess everyone's heading over to Harrison's_/ thought the boy. He put the cell phone back in his pocket and made a left into his driveway. He jogged up the steps to the porch and entered his house. He kicked off his shoes on the mat at the door and threw his book bag down on the green couch. He saw his little sister napping in the recliner with the TV blaring Dragon Tales. He quickly turned it off and headed up the stairs to grab a few things.

"Daichi, is that you?" came a feminine voice from downstairs.

"Yeah, Mom. I'm gonna grab a few things and head over to Harrison's house." came the reply from Daichi.

"That sounds fine. Any idea what time you'll be back?"

"Not really. Maybe 9, maybe later."

"Well just call if you need a ride or anything, your dad should be home in about an hour. Right now, your sister and I are about to go to Granny's. She got a new poodle, ya know." said Mrs. Sakoda.

"Just another to add to the collection, I guess." Daichi laughed. About once every three months, his grandmother would buy a new poodle, give it an awful name and end up giving it to another family member by the end of the month. She'd usually claim that it is 'too much to handle'. But each time, that never stops her.

"Bye, Honey. Love you"

"Byeyabyeya" chirped his tired little sister, Ana. She was still having trouble with some of her words, so sometimes they'd come out a bit different.

"Bye, mom. You too". Daichi said as he turned on the computer. While that was loading, he took off his orange T-shirt and slipped on his old black one from soccer. It was black and had Sakoda written in silver at the top of the shoulders with 01 under it. He slipped on his square blue signature goggles. He wore this practically everywhere and was dubbed "Goggle Boy" by his friends. The computer finished loading and he checked his emails. One from his youth pastor at the neighborhood church, one from his best friend, Cassie, and one from a message board.

/_I'll check them later when I get back from Harrison's_/ he thought. He turned off the computer and picked up a wrapper of a cereal bar from this morning. He tossed it in the trash and turned off the lamp on his nightstand that illuminated the room during daylight hours. He shut the door and started down the hallway to the stairs.

Beep.

/_Did that come from my room?_/ Daichi thought to himself. He started walking down the stairs until he heard it again, except this time it was louder and longer.

beeeeep!

/_It's probably nothing. Probably Ana's Tamagotchi that she left in my room or something_/ Whatever it was that was beeping demanded Daichi's attention and wanted him to come into his room. It's request was fulfilled with a final high pitched

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Daichi marched back up his stairs and walked into his room. The beeping was coming from his computer. Even though it was completely shut off, there was a pop-up on it.

/_How the heck is that possible.../_

However, upon closer inspection this was more than just some ordinary popup. It was personalized and read:

**"**Dear D.S.,

I've initialized this in hopes that your identity won't be revealed if this is read by someone other than the intended recipient. For a while I've been watching you and it's now time for you, along with the others, to fulfill your destiny and save this endangered world. At the end of this message, I've attached your strongest tool for that quest. However, incase this reaches the wrong person, I've had it coded. I trust that you'll use your knowledge to unlock the code and gain the aforementioned tool and access to our world. Hope to see you soon. And Nmbb says 'hello'.

-Nmjj.**"**

/_Watching me! Save the endangered world! Strongest tool! Secret Code! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!_/ Daichi had good reason to be thinking these things. He'd just received a message from someone that said they'd been watching for some time now. He pondered on it all. What if it was just a joke. Whoever could've done this would need a good understanding of computer programs. His computer was completely turned off and yet this message still displayed.

Beep.

/_Not this beeping shit again..._/ he thought.

Beep. Now the entire message was blinking gold.

Beep.

Beep.

"Please state the code word." The computer said, the voice coming from only god knows where inside it.

Beep.

Beep.

/_Code word? I don't know the code word. Use my knowledge? My knowledge of what? This 'Nmjj' acts like we've spoken before._/

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Please state the code word."

Beep.

/_These beeps are starting to annoy me. I don't know the code word!_/

Beep.

Beep.

"Please state the code word."

"Look! I don't know the code word! Stop beeeeping!"

"Code word "Beep" is correct. Prepare to receive the D-Stryker." said the computer.

/_...the code word was 'beep'. This guy must like irony. And what is a D-Stryker? Must be the tool Nmjj was talking about_/ Daichi thought to himself as the computer screen starting shining gold and a light emerged. The light got brighter by the second and soon, Daichi had to shield his eyes from it. The light them streamed over to Daichi's hand and then something materialized. Daichi was mesmerized by it all. The light then went back into the computer and then the screen went black like nothing had ever happened.

/_Whoa...D-Stryker?_/ He studied the new thing that fit perfectly in his hand. It was mostly rectangular with a screen that looked about a square-inch near the top. Under the screen were two white buttons. The grip on it was black, as was the right side of the device. The left side, however, was a shining gold, with a thin white line that trimmed where the two colors met one another. Also in the middle of the device, was a much larger silver button.

That was all the time that Daichi had to study it. Immediately his computer screen lit up again and in a flash he was sucked into it.

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"Well, Terriermon, looks like we all finally got him in here." came a feminine voice. The owner of the voice was standing on a cliff that over looked a canyon. Beside the figure was a small, white creature. The most notable thing about this creature was it's large ears. While this biped had many qualities of a dog, it's large ears looked big enough to let it fly or at least glide. Also, a small skin-covered horn adorned its forehead. This creature was Terriermon.

"It's about time. He must not be the brightest guy if he didn't come here when we sent that big monster." replied Terriermon.

"Haha. We should probably ask him about that when he gets here. But for now, we should give Jijimon and Babamon a call and tell them the good news."

"Sounds good. But I'll race you.", giggled Terriermon as she jumped off the cliff. She spread her large ears and used them to slowly glide.

"Cheater!" joked Terriermon's human companion as she ran down the other side of the cliff.

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/_Whatever is happening ... canNOT be good./ _It seemed to Daichi like he'd been falling for quite sometime and it didn't look like he would be landing anytime soon. This couldn't be good. Especially for someone who has a weak stomach.

Luckily, for our hero, Daichi Sakoda, he hit the ground.

"Ouch", said Daichi as he sat up. He'd landed awkwardly on his back, and although it was painful, it wasn't as painful as what one would've thought.

Daichi searched his surroundings. He was sitting on clay dirt in the middle of what looked like a smaller and simpler version of the Grand Canyon. He looked up and saw a clear blue sky with white puffy clouds blowing by with the breeze. Daichi stood up and dusted himself off.

"So this little thing got me all the way here!" Daichi said to himself. He felt a little weird talking to himself, but as his dad always said 'it's not a problem until you start answering yourself'.

Daichi started walking forward a bit trying to find any other signs of people. He was pretty calm in this situation. Calmer than most would be when they were transported to an unknown area through the computer. But hey, Dai's a complex guy.

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"Erika! Looks like he's here already!" said Terriermon to her partner. Erika and Terriermon were now on the floor of the canyon and walking forward.

"How is that possible? I know that when I got here I fell for at least a half hour. And then there was the firewall, that alone took another hour or so." Erika said.

"I guess Eaglemon isn't that good of a guardian. I've heard rumors that he's actually really lazy."

Erika laughed. Terriermon was probably the peppiest thing she'd been around in a long long time. This world was much better than the one she'd left just a few weeks ago.

"C'mon. We better get to those phones and give Jijimon and Babamon a call and greet Daichi!" said Terriermon, getting her partner to run faster with Terriermon sitting on her head.

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Daichi had been walking for fifteen minutes or more and still spotted nothing. Each part of this canyon looked the same. There was red dirt, followed by a rock, then a larger rock, then more dirt. That pattern had repeated for a mile and a half. This D-Stryker wasn't doing anything to help him either. He'd hit all the buttons on it but nothing happened. Still, he continued marching calmly in hopes to find some sign of humanity.

He finally did.

There was an entire line of seven pay phones!

"Oh man! Yes!" Daichi exclaimed, yet again, to himself as he ran over to the first one in the line.

He got to it and put his hands in his pockets, searching for some change. He pulled out two quarters and inserted them into the machine. He picked up the receiver but heard no dial tone. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried for the fourth time. Yet again, nothing.

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" said Daichi. He gave the pay phone a kick and backed up. He searched for another quarter to try the next one.

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"Oh look! There are the phones." Erika pointed out to Terriermon.

"And there's Daichi!" Terriermon said.

"Well I guess we can kill two birds with one stone, eh?"

"Two birds with one stone? ... what do you mean by that?" asked Terriermon out of confusion as she and her partner sped up a small bit towards Daichi and the payphones.

"Pleeeaaasseeee work, please please please please!" Daichi said aloud. He'd tried every pay phone. None had worked. Of course he ran out of change after the fourth. But he still gave the last three a try. Just in case.

"Well, boy, now I think that phone not working is the least of your worries right now." came a deep voice.

"Wha?" Daichi turned around looking for whoever said that.

The voice cleared his throat. "I said, I think that phone not working is the least of your worries right now!"

"Why do you say tha..." Daichi said as he finally saw who the voice belonged to. It belonged to a monstrous creature. It reminded him of a Triceratops. Its skin was light gray with a darker gray covering some areas on its body. However, the thing that scared Daichi wasn't the monster's size, but the large horn at the end of the nose on it.

Beep.

Daichi looked down at his D-Stryker and finally, for the first time since entering this place, it worked.

"Monochromon. Data Type. Armored Dragon Digimon. Attacks include Volcanic Strike and Rush Attack." said a voice coming from the D-Stryker.

/_Wow, this thing talks? Ehh...I think the more important thing is this big guy staring me down./_

"Hi, Mr. Monochromon, sir. Here you go. You can use the phones if you want. Might I suggest using phone three." Yeah, he was trying to kiss ass, you would too if you had a Monochromon staring you down.

Monochromon laughed, "Sorry, Kid-o. I'm on a mission."

"And uh, what is that mission, sir? I'll do whatever I can to help." Daichi said. He'd just noticed that Monochromon's eyes were a blood red. That couldn't be good either.

"Well, it's simple, boy. I have to either destroy you, that thing in your hand, or both."

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"Uh oh. Erika, look!" shouted Terriermon as a charging Monochromon caught her eye.

"Look at his eyes. That's the work of you-know-who." said Erika.

"Yeah. Now let's go!"

"Wait, that Monochromon has tough skin. Your attacks wouldn't harm him at all. Let's see if Daichi can handle things on his own at first. Then, I'll help him out with my D-Stryker if he doesn't succeed." explained Erika.

"Good plan, Erika. Now we wouldn't happen to have any popcorn left would we?" asked Terriermon as they watched Daichi running from Monochromon.

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"Ahhhhh!" screamed our fearless hero as he was being chased by an angry red-eyed Monochromon.

"Get back here, you little puke!" yelled Monochromon. He just wanted a simple kill, not a game of tag.

Daichi began hitting all the buttons on his D-Stryker. /_C'mon. Work! If you can tell me all about him, then I'm sure you can tell me what to do in this type of situation!_/ Suddenly, Daichi noticed a small silver button on the back of the D-Stryker that he hadn't noticed before. He pushed it immediately.

"To activate D-Stryker tutorial, state the code word" boomed voice that came out of the D-Stryker earlier when it identified Monochromon.

"Uhh...Beep. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep is the code word!" yelled Daichi.

"Code word is correct. Welcome to the D-Stryker Gold and Black Version! Please state your name."

Daichi didn't hear this, he was still running from Monochromon in circles and still blabbering 'beep, beep, beep' in hopes for the D-Stryker to do something.

"Hello, Beep. Now, the most useful function of the D-Stryker is weapon mode."

"Yeah, that's it! Weapon mode!"

"To activate weapon mode, yell 'D-Stryker Activate'."

/_Don't have to tell me twice._/ thought Daichi. "D-Stryker Activate!" he yelled with all of his being in hoped that whatever was about to happen would save his life.

"D-Stryker Weapon Mode Activated: Lance of Valor." said D-Stryker. Daichi held it up in the air as two blade of golden light emerged from the top and bottom of it. /_Wow..._/

"You think just because you got that undersized microwave to work, that you'll beat me?" said Monochromon with an arrogant smirk as he finally stopped chasing Daichi and the two stood facing each other.

Daichi held his D-Stryker in his right hand and suddenly, his face shifted from one of a coward to one of bravery and confidence. Monochromon, however, wasn't scared at all. Daichi's dark brown eyes met Monochromon's blood red ones and then they both charged.

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/_A lance? ... Impressive/ _thought Erika as she looked at the battle between the human and digimon.

"Yes! He did it!" exclaimed Terriermon, "Guess he isn't as silly as what I was thinking he was."

"Let's hope he can use it correctly."

"Monochromon doesn't stand a chance! Go Daichi!" cheered Terriermon as she munched on some popcorn that was in Erika's bag.

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"Rush Attack!" yelled Monochromon as he lowered his head and charged once again at Daichi.

Daichi let out a roar as he barely got out of Monochromon's way and slashed at him with his energy lance. Monochromon repeated the same actions. Again, Daichi barely moved out of the way and slashed him with the lance. This time the cut was just below the right of Monochromon, while the earlier one was on the front left leg.

"That little thing can't hurt me! My skin is tougher than any other digimon you'll find in this canyon!" Monochromon was getting a bit agitated that Daichi was dodging his attacks. He wanted to end this.

/_Did he just say 'digimon'? I'm gonna have to find out what that is later. But as for now, I gotta slow this guy down, or deal some type of damage to him. His stamina is much higher than mine._/

"Lance of Valor!" shouted Daichi as he jumped in the air. That's what the D-Stryker had called it and it sounded warrior-like. Daichi swung his lance toward Monochromon's large horn, but only a scratch was left on it.

"Do you honestly think that you can even damage that? That is the strongest part of my body! Rush Attack!"

Monochromon charged once again and this time, Daichi was too late to step out of the way and was hit with the horn.

The attack sent him back 11 yards! It took Daichi almost all he had to stand up after that. However, something in him kept him going. He ran towards Monochromon again. He knew that if he were to get around to his side, a much weaker spot on him, that he'd be able to do some real damage. However, it didn't work. Each time Daichi tried to charge at Monochromon's side, he turned and blocked it with his massive horn.

/_Only one option left...I have to get rid of that horn./ _Daichi was getting tired, though. Before the battle had officially begun he'd run a good distance just being chased by this 'digimon' and that Rush Attack had done a high amount of damage to him.

"This is it! Rush Attack!"

"Not today, Monochromon!" Daichi jumped in the air as Monochromon lowered his head and swung with all he had at Monochromon's horn. Midway through the swing, the D-Stryker's screen started flashing. The golden lance seemed to grow in size and then it hit the dinosaur's horn straight on.

Daichi landed back on his feet and had to use the lance to support his weight. He was completely out of shape and all of this wasn't making his body feel too great.

However, Daichi noticed something that he'd hoped for, but never really expected.

...Monochromon's horn slid off and hit the dirt.

"WHAT! YOU LITTLE BRAT!" shouted Monochromon. He was in disbelief. This punk kid had actually succeeded and CUT his horn off ... all because of that lance. Now, he was going to let him have it.

Daichi couldn't help but smile.

"Don't think this is over! IT'S FAR FROM OVER! VOLCANIC STRIKE!" yelled the enraged digimon as he opened his mouth and it was filled with fire forming in the shape of a sphere. Finally, after the ball of fire had grown to a large size, Monochromon launched it at Daichi.

Daichi, catching a second breath, barely dodged the fireball and leapt up onto Monochromon's nose.

"What do you think you're doing! Get off of me!" Monochromon danced around trying to get the human off of him.

"Say goodbye, Monochromon!", Daichi jumped from the digimon's nose and onto his back, "Lance of Valor!" Daichi stabbed the energy lance into Monochromon's back!

The digimon immediately fell over on his side. Daichi noticed that Monochromon's legs began fading into little pieces that were floating up to the sky. Daichi hopped off the back of Monochromon and ran over to his face. He noticed that now Monochromon's eyes were now a peaceful shade of silver.

"Your majesty, just to let you know. I'm no traitor, that was not me in that battle. I would never turn my back on this world. Goodbye, Digidefender."

"Majesty? ... Digidefender? What are you talking about!" Daichi asked out of utter confusion.

Daichi didn't get an answer as Monochromon's entire body burst into little particles and float up to the sky. Daichi actually felt kind of bad for killing the digimon. He'd done it out of defense, of course, but still something in Monochromon's silver eyes told him that it wasn't the digimon's will to destroy Daichi.

"Exiting weapon mode." said the D-Stryker as it withdrew the golden blades.

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"He did it! He did it!" exclaimed Terriermon as she jumped in victory.

Erika smiled, "Now let's get over there and greet him before anymore monsters get to him." Erika picked up Terriermon and started walking in the direction of Daichi.

Although neither of them mentioned it. They were thinking it. They were thinking about what had happened just after Daichi defeated the Monochromon. It was something that Daichi surely wouldn't have noticed, only being in the Digital World for a very short time. After Daichi had stabbed Monochromon, they'd saw a black shadow leak out from Monochromon that slipped away and into a crevice of the earth.

/_No doubt about it...it's the work of_.../

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/_Wow, looks like this thing really comes in handy when you need it._/ Daichi thought as he held his D-Stryker up in victory. The light on the D-Stryker's screen then went blank. Daichi hit all the buttons to try to get the light to come back on again. He wanted to finish that tutorial he'd activated earlier during the battle.

Nothing.

/_...but won't do a damn thing any other time._/

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	2. 2 Daichi to the Rescue!

Digimon Chronicles: The Digital Defenders

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**Episode 2: **Daichi To The Rescue!

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"Hi ya!" greeted Terriermon.

"Ahhh!" yelled Daichi. Terriermon had approached Daichi from behind while he was toying with his D-Stryker, in hopes to learn more about it.

"Oh, sorry, Daichi. I'm Terriermon." said the little bunny digimon.

"You just caught me off guard. You seem like a nice little creature, would you happen to know where any humans are would you?" asked Daichi in hopes Terriermon would lead him towards humanity.

"Mhmm, my partner's on her way her." answered Terriermon.

"Partner? What's that? And it's a she? Yes, a girl!", said Daichi as Erika walked up to the two. Terriermon had ran up ahead of Erika after the battle with Monochromon was finished.

"Hi, I'm her partner, Erika." said the girl, "And welcome to the digiworld, Daichi". Daichi took a good look at the girl. She had moderately curly dark brown hair that flowed down to her shoulder. She was average height and had dark brown skin. She was wearing a green tank top and a white skirt that matched her white shoes. However, the shoes were dirty, obviously from walking around in this canyon. Also, on Erika's back was a dark green backpack that looked like it was stuffed to its extent.

"How do you two know my name?! Are you the ones that wrote me that weird letter? And what's the digiworld?" asked Daichi. He had a lot of questions and hoped that this girl and her 'partner' would be able to answer them.

"Well, first of all. This is the digiworld. You're no longer on Earth. You're in a world that was created by all the data from computers and whatnot on Earth." explained Erika, "The D-Stryker in your hand must've brought you here through your computer."

"Right. So ... um, what's the point of this world?"

"We need a place to live too!" Terriermon butted in.

Daichi kneeled down to Terriermon's height, "So what are you?".

"I'm a digimon."

/_Digimon ... that's what Monochromon said during the fight._/

"Okay ... what do digimon do?" Daichi's confusion was still there.

"Well, we eat, sleep, and breathe just like you humans." answered Terriermon.

"I understand this a bit. But why was I brought here, and you guys never answered how you know my name!"

Erika and Terriermon couldn't help but laugh. "Calm down, we're not your stalkers or anything. But in all seriousness, you were brought here to help defend and protect this world."

"From what? Monochromons? Why me?" Daichi still had tons of questions.

"for starters, your grammar was wrong on that one. The plural of digimon is digimon. It doesn't need an 's'." Terriermon butted in again to correct Daichi's grammar. Daichi just looked at Terriermon with more confusion.

Erika looked at Terriermon, "Don't confuse him with grammar and mechanics right now, we can tutor him on that later.". She turned her attention back to Daichi, "Anyways, you were chosen by Jijimon and Babamon. This world needs protection from the evil digimon."

"So, like, tons more Monochromon?"

"haha, nope. You see, Monochromon wasn't actually bad." explained Erika.

"Not bad?! He tried to kill me!", Yep, the confusion came back.

"That wasn't a normal Monochromon. It was possessed by a Shadow."

"And he looked a lot bigger than all the other Monochromon that I've seen, too!", Terriermon noted.

/_That might explain why he apologized to me right before he died._/ thought Daichi. When Monochromon's eyes turned from blood red to silver, he knew something was different about him. "After I'd slain that Monochromon, he called me 'majesty'. Why?"

"That's a good question. Since you're a Digidefender, you're like a messiah to the digimon here. They need a savior."

"Digidefender? How do you know I'm one of those? and a savior from who?" Daichi wasn't normally this interrogating, but one would be too if one was thrown into a strange world and had to fight a dinosaur.

"Well, you're a human in the digiworld and have a D-Stryker. And they need saving from the Dark Masters, which are four digimon that were so evil and terrorizing to the digiworld that they were sealed away. Only now, they've been unlocked by a follower of theirs."

"Do you have a D-Stryker?" It'd be nice to know that Daichi wasn't the only 'Digidefender' around and wasn't on his own.

"Mhmm," Erika reached her hand behind her and pulled something out of her backpack. It was a D-Stryker that looked identical to his except for the coloring. Instead of a gold and black, hers was a green and white that seemed to match Terriermon's coloring, "I got mine a week ago when I was transported here."

"So who are these 'Dark Masters' you mentioned?" Daichi asked.

"Hmm, I should actually let Jijimon answer this one for you, he has a much better grasp on it all." Erika had only been in the digiworld a week, she'd told Daichi all she knew.

"Jijimon? Who's that?"

"He's the mentor of the Digidefenders. He's the one that sent the D-Strykers to all the Digidefenders. Probably the one that sent you that message you mentioned earlier."

"No, can't be. The person who sent it to me signed it 'Nmjj'."

"Ahh, same with mine. You have to flip it around and get 'Jjmn'. Then add the vowels in and you have Jijimon."

"Clever. But when are we going to talk to this guy?"

"Right after we find your partner!" Terriermon jumped in the conversation again.

"Partner? Like a digimon partner?"

"Yes. All Digidefenders have them." Erika said.

"All? Are there more Digidefenders? And How are we supposed to find my partner?" asked Daichi.

"Well, there are two other ones that I know of. Jijimon may have sent out more, I'll have to ask him when we see him. And ... let's see ... to find your partner we just have to use your D-Stryker.", answered Erika.

"There might be a problem then. The damn thing won't work!", Daichi exclaimed. The only time that it'd worked was once during the battle. Even then he fully didn't understand it.

"Haha, I thought the same thing when I first got mine. But yours did work during the battle, Terriermon and I both saw the lance come out of it."

"Wait?!", It'd just clicked with Daichi, "You were WATCHING that battle and didn't attempt to help me at all?! I was about to be killed."

"I told her, Daichi. I said that we should help you out because you looked hopeless when you were running from Monochromon. But she said to wait it out and see if you could handle it." answered Terriermon, "Erika wouldn't have let you die or anything bad like that."

"Well a helping hand would've been nice. Also, telling me how to work this thing would've been a big help!", Daichi didn't want to admit it, but he was glad that Erika didn't step in. That would've meant that a GIRL saved his life and he ended up doing it on his own and felt good about it.

"Well then I'm sorry. But we're getting off subject here. Let me see your D-Stryker and I'll see what I can do." said Erika. Daichi handed his gadget over to her and she just stared at it for a moment. She then pressed the big silver button on the font and it came to life.

/_You have GOT to be kidding me. I know I've hit that button two dozen times within the past hour and it didn't do anything!_/

Erika hit one of the smaller buttons just below the screen and out popped a hologram map!

"Wow.", Daichi was impressed.

"Now, look." Erika said, "See the green X? That's me and the green O is Terriermon. You see the gold X, that's you. We just have to look for a golden O."

Daichi studied the hologram map. It showed the canyon they were in, a forest at the end of it and two neighboring cities on the other side of the forest. He saw what Erika was talking about. the small green X and O were standing in font of a small gold X directly in the center of the canyon. Suddenly, a small golden O materialized in the smaller city or village on the left at the edge of the forest. "There it is." Daichi stated. Erika hit the other button under the screen. The city was lined in a yellow light now and the name of it was displayed.

"So that's it," Terriermon said, "Next stop: Primary Village!"

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After two hours of walking, our heroes found themselves on the edge of the red clay canyon about to enter a lush, green forest. Daichi was, of course, excited to be close to Primary Village, the location of this digimon partner. However one problem had presented itself. The sun was setting and this wasn't just a small patch of woods that is in front of them.

"So, ready to set up camp?" asked Erika as she sat down in the grass with Terriermon jumping on her lap.

"Um...can't we just go to that village place now?" Daichi asked, motioning for the group to continue through the forest.

"Well, we could but it'd be nice to rest." Erika answered.

Daichi didn't like that idea. "Well, I'm the one that fought today and I can still go on. I think that means you two will be able to do it too!"

"The sun has almost set and this is a big forest. We might as well just rest and go through there in the morning.", suggested Erika.

"This? I could jog through this in an hour blindfolded.", Daichi gloated as he tried to lift Erika up.

"I doubt it. The only digimon that could do that would probably be an Imperialdramon.", Terriermon jumped into the conversation. Obviously, neither humans knew who or what she was talking about.

"I just want to set up camp and get some sleep, please." Erika said as she began searching in her bag.

"Erikaaaaaaa, I just want to see my digimon! It won't take long to go through this forest," Daichi insisted, "We even have a map."

"That you don't know how to work!", Terriermon joked as she stuck a tongue out at Daichi.

Erika sighed. She was surprised Daichi wasn't worn out after that battle with Monochromon but the excitement of getting a digimon partner was pushing him. "Alright. We'll walk for an hour and then set up camp, no matter where we are. Deal?".

"Yeah, yeah, deal, whatever, let's go!" Daichi pulled Erika and Terriermon up off their butts and sprinted off into the forest.

"Silly goggle boy." said Terriermon.

-------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately for Daichi, he was wrong. After an hour of off-and-on sprinting, they were still in the woods and it was getting dark as not much light was coming from the Digi-moon. Daichi pressed the buttons on his D-Stryker wildly, looking to see one of it's many functions included 'flashlight mode'.

"Well, Daichi, seems like you were wrong. Time for camp. Time for food." said Erika as she searched for a good place for the trio to sleep.

"A little more time. We'll be outta here soon!", Daichi was tired but after seeing Erika and Terriermon together, he couldn't wait any longer to see his partner.

However, the suggestion was rejected by both Terriermon and her human partner. Erika finally sat down in a cleared out area that was surrounded in bushes. It was the perfect spot for a tent. There was even a place for a small fire, not that they'd need one. Although it might help keep Digimon away while they're sleeping.

"Since you're so set on setting up camp, how do you suggest we do that? I don't see a tent, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, or anything!"

"Daichi, you'll come to learn that Erika has everything in this bag.", said Terriermon as Erika pulled out a long metal cylinder. Erika shook it for a few seconds, unscrewed the lid and then threw it down on the ground. Within a matter of seconds, there stood a six foot high, fully inflated yellow tent.

/_Wow...a tent in a can? Terriermon wasn't even kidding..._/ thought Daichi as Erika smiled. She knew what Daichi was thinking.

Erika pulled more things out of the back pack. "I have two blankets. Terriermon and I can share one and you can have the other. However, only one pillow."

Daichi thought about it and sighed. "I'll be the gentlemen and let you two girls have it."

"Such a sweetheart." said Erika in a sarcastic tone.

"So, Erika, Erika, Erika," said Terriermon, "What's for dinner? I'm starving."

Daichi rubbed his stomach, "Now that you mention it, Terriermon, I'm hungry, too."

"You guys aren't the only ones. I'm starving, too.", Erika searched her bag. "Looks like all I have is junk food that I bought from Flash Town a few days ago. There's some leftover popcorn, gummy Seadramon, and a chocolate Rabbitmon. However, I do have four grape sodas."

Not the most nutritious meal he'd ever had but right now it would do. Daichi grabbed the bag of gummy Seadramon and a grape soda and sat on a rock. Terriermon took a soda and the popcorn that was leftover from when she was watching Daichi's battle. Erika sat down on a stump that was nearby the tent and chowed down on her chocolate Rabbitmon.

"So should we build a fire for tonight?", Erika brought the subject up.

"What's the use?" Daichi asked.

"Well, to keep the wild Digimon away. Who knows what is in this forest?" Erika answered.

"More Monochromon?!" Daichi pulled out his D-Stryker, ready for another fight.

"Calm down, goggle boy, there are more bad digimon here than Monochromon." Terriermon laughed.

"Monochromon are certainly the scariest I've seen." Daichi said.

"You've only seen two Digimon since being here: Me and that Monochromon."

"Exactly."

It took a moment for the comment to register with Terriermon. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Just saying. You're not scary at all. You look more so like a doll than a monster." Daichi joked.

"Take that back! I can be scary if I want to! I just choose not to, it's not very ladylike!", Terriermon retorted. She looked over at Daichi and attempted to make a mean face by sticking out her tongue and closing one eye. It had the reverse effect and Daichi started laughing. Erika soon let out a chuckle later.

"So, fire. Yes or no?" asked Erika one last time.

"We don't have anything for one and we're all tired. I say no." answered Daichi.

"We don't need one anyways." came a comment from Terriermon.

"Whatever you guys say." said Erika as she opened the tent. Terriermon and Daichi followed her. As it was getting way too dark to see with one's own eyes, Erika pulled out a flashlight and sat it down inside the tent as they got their blankets and got comfortable with them.

"Goodnight" said Daichi as he zipped the tent back up.

"Goodnight", Erika said as she turned her flashlight off.

They both expected a 'goodnight' from Terriermon, however the bunny/dog digimon was already asleep taking up much of the girls' pillow.

-------------------------------------------------

As Daichi was just about to drift off to sleep after thinking about the day, he was startled by a light in the tent. It was Erika. He didn't say anything but just watched. She searched around in her bag and pulled out a book and a pencil. After flipping through the pages, she started writing.

"Erika, what are you doing?", asked Daichi.

"Oh ... um... nothing", replied Erika as she shut the book and blushed.

"Don't you think fourteen is a little too old for a dairy?"

"Hey, it's not a diary! More like a journal. I just like to record what happens during my day and my feelings about it and whatnot."

"...sounds like a diary to me."

"go to bed!"

"I would if you would turn off that light." Erika didn't answer, she just turned off the light and the two said nothing else.

-------------------------------------------------

Daichi was startled a few hours later too. This time it wasn't from a light, nor was it something from inside the tent.

It was a scream.

Daichi jumped up, hitting his head on the tent. He looked around. Terriermon was there, now completely sleeping on the pillow. However, Erika wasn't where she laid down earlier. Daichi looked to the left and saw the tent wasn't zipped up at all and a chilly breeze came in through the opening. Daichi practically jumped out of the tent and looked outside for Erika.

"Erika! You there?!" he yelled. No response. "Erikaaaaa! You there?!" Still nothing.

The yelling woke up little Terriermon. She moped out of the tent looking drowsy, "Why all the screaming Daichi?"

"Well, I hate to jump to conclusions, but Erika isn't in her bed and the tent was open. Now I can't find her." he replied.

"Erika! ERIKAAAA" they yelled in unison.

"Terriermon, you don't think she's gotten lost, do you?", Daichi was starting to get worried.

"No, Erika's too smart for that. But you don't think something got her?"

"Wouldn't that have woken us up?"

"Some Digimon are stealthy and quiet."

"Well, we just need to find her.", Daichi yelled her name a few more times. Still no response.

Terriermon got an idea. "Daichi! Get out your D-Stryker. Use that map function that she used earlier."

Daichi was surprised at the idea, "Good idea, little bud." He pulled it out and tried to remember what buttons she hit. It didn't matter. Daichi hit them all.

"Thank you for accessing D-Stryker Map Function, Mr. Beep", came the familiar voice of Daichi's D-Stryker as it displayed the hologram map of the canyon, the forest, Primary Village, and another town from earlier.

Terriermon couldn't help but giggle at the D-Stryker calling Daichi 'Mr. Beep', which was a result from the battle with Monochromon and Daichi just uttering the word 'beep' constantly for a few minutes while it the D-Stryker asked for his name and the code word. Then, he spotted the green X that represented Erika's D-Stryker, "There it is!"

"We need a more descriptive map than this. That way we'll have a better idea of how far she is." Daichi stated. "Zoom, please, Miss D-Stryker.", he asked the D-Stryker.

"The name is Lola, Mr. Beep. Zooming in on forest area.", came the reply from his D-Stryker ... or Lola.

Daichi couldn't really tell how far Erika was from the map since it had no scale. "Looks like we're just going to have to go forward until we run into her.", he informed.

"Well, let's hurry!" Terriermon says as she jumped into the air and glided.

-------------------------------------------------

"LET GO OF ME!" screamed Erika as she was being dragged by her kidnapper.

"Now why would I want to do that? It's been a long time since we've had human." came the reply. Erika tried to get a good look at whatever it was that was dragging her, but it was too dark. All she could see was the digimon's nine eyes and six feet. Erika, herself, couldn't feel hands or paws grasping her, instead she was wrapped in a sticky net type thing. She searched her pocket for her D-Stryker. Nothing. All she needed to do was activate her weapon mode and she could easily get out of whatever she was wrapped in.

"Ouch!" she screamed as her head was dragged over a rock.

"Keep quiet. We're almost there. You're going to make quite a dinner for a lot of hungry digimon."

-------------------------------------------------

"We're almost there, Terriermon," said Daichi as he and the little dog digimon were running in the forest, "She should be just past those trees."

Hearing this made Terriermon speed up. She'd been running for a while, but thinking that her partner was in trouble and was just up ahead willed her to run even more. The human and digimon pair continued down the forest, jumping over logs, stumps, and whatever else lay in their path. They finally reached where Daichi's D-Stryker said Erika was.

She wasn't there.

"Um...I don't see her. Do you?" asked Terriermon as she looked around frantically.

Daichi looked all around. "Nope."

"But the D-Stryker can't be wrong. She's got to be nearby", said Terriermon.

Daichi took another look at his D-Stryker's hologram map. He zoomed in more. Terriermon's green O was moving around Daichi's golden X and Erika's green X. He kneeled down in the exact location of the green X. Daichi moved his hands around on the ground, hoping to find something, anything. All he could feel against his hands were the random patches of grass in the tan dirt, an occasional stone, and a few bugs.

Terriermon still searched the entire area without stopping. She looked in bushes, behind rocks, and on tree branches. She also would dive off the trees in hopes of getting a get aerial view of the place. She was having no luck of spotting her partner.

Daichi still continued to rub his hands around on the earth hoping to find something. Finally, he did. "Terriermon, check this out!"

Terriermon dove off the top of another tree and glided down to Daichi's side. She looked at the boy to see him holding in his hand Erika's D-Stryker. "She must be nearby if her D-Stryker's here." Terriermon began to look around again.

Daichi looked at Erika's D-Stryker once more and then tossed it about ten feet from where they were. He then checked his D-Stryker's map. Just as he suspected.

"Daichi! Why'd you just throw her D-Stryker like that?!"

"I wanted to test something. All along we thought that these X's on our hologram maps represented humans. But we were wrong. They actually represent other D-Strykers." Daichi explained as he walked over and picked up Erika's D-Stryker.

"Then how are we going to find Erika?" Terriermon got even more worried as she thought about her partner in trouble.

Daichi looked around. They'd walked into this area from the rear and Erika's D-Stryker was at the other end. That means she must've been running straight ahead. "We keep going straight," he said, "It looks like she was running in that direction."

Terriermon contemplated. Daichi's idea could be completely wrong and put them in the completely opposite direction of Erika. However, she had no better ideas. "If you say so."

With that, the two sprinted off straight forward in hopes to find the damsel in distress.

-------------------------------------------------

Finally, the person who was dragging Erika had stopped. Erika was dropped on the ground fully and she laid there for just a few seconds. She still couldn't see much at all. She felt dirt all around her and the place reeked. She jumped as a fire started a few feet away from her that lit up the entire room. She was in what looked like a cave made completely of dirt. To her right were dozens of small tunnels and to her left was her kidnapper. She jumped back at the sight of the hideous beast. It was a giant yellow and black spider. On it's rear was a skull and cross bones that sent chills down Erika's spine. Even creepier than that though, was it's face. On the top part were 9 glaring green eyes and on the bottom were huge white teeth. She knew it was a digimon, but without her D-Stryker, she couldn't find out it's name or any other information. Half a dozen more made their way out of the tunnels and eyed their next meal.

"Good work, Dokugumon. The queen always loves to have humans for dinner.", said one of the spiders.

"Then let's not keep her waiting.", said another, "Inform her of the delicacy she's about to receive."

Two of the Dokugumon went into the easternmost tunnel with a look of happiness on their face. Two of the remaining five Dokugumon walked forward toward Erika. She shrieked.

"No need in screaming, dear. No one above ground can hear you."

"Above ground?!", Erika screamed.

"That's right. We Dokugumon live underground. It comes in handy for a situation like this. Prepare to be spider food, human."

Erika stood up and started running towards a tunnel she saw on the other side of the room, hoping that it'd be the exit.

"Poison Thread!" exclaimed one of the Dokugumon. It opened its mouth and shot out a burst of pink webbing. The webbing hit Erika on the back and proceeded to wrap itself around her midsection. Another shot of web coming from another Dokugumon hit her in the ankles and wrapped around them. She stumbled then fell flat on her face. She managed to pick herself up and hopped forward.

"Don't think you'll be getting away this easily." Two of the Dokugumon chased after her.

-------------------------------------------------

"Daichi, we've been running forever and there's not even a sign of her." said Terriermon, the little dog digimon was beyond worried about her partner.

Daichi sighed. He didn't know what to tell the digimon. They were both worried sick about wherever Erika could be, and the fact that they were tired from running for at least a half hour didn't help them out. Daichi's weight crashed down on the ground. Terriermon soon followed. There was a cracking sound.

"Are you okay, Terriermon?" Daichi asked, thinking that it sounded like a bone.

"That wasn't me," replied Terriermon, "I thought that was you."

Each had a puzzled look on their face. They then peered at the small space in the ground between there. There was a small abnormal hole. There was a bit of light coming up from it.

"What do you think it is?" Terriermon leaned in closely.

"I don't know." Daichi put his hand it. The hole got bigger as a piece of earth fell, as if the ground they were on were hallow. Then, more pieces of the ground began falling and the two heroes fell with it.

Daichi landed flat on his back, with loose dirt all around him. To his left was a mound of dirt with two cream colored ears coming out of it.

"Now's the time to ask me if I'm okay." came a squeaky voice from it. Daichi helped up Terriermon and they both looked at their surroundings.

The room they crashed in looked like it was a small cave made of dirt. There was a fire in the corner, and one side were dozens of tunnels. Looking up, they noticed a big gaping hole in the ceiling, thanks to them.

"Where are we?" Daichi asked.

"This looks like it's a colony of spider digimon. Although I didn't know that they lived in this forest." answered the digimon as she tensed up.

Daichi walked around and examined the tunnels. "We need to get out of here and find Erika."

"Wait, Let's look around first. I think she may-" Terriermon was interrupted by a scream coming from one of the tunnels Daichi was near.

"That's her! It was this one!" Daichi commanded as he led the way through one of the tunnels.

"Don't worry, Terriermon and Daichi on the rescue!"

-------------------------------------------------

Erika was scared to death. She was in room almost the size of a ballroom, of course made of dirt and was now hanging from the ceiling by a spider web. Below her were a half dozen Dokugumon bickering over which way to prepare her for dinner and at the other end of the room sat the queen of them on a spider web throne. This Dokugumon was almost double the size of the other ones and spoke with a feminine voice. But the most intimidating thing of it, was it's red eyes, as opposed to the normal green.

"Fools! Stop bickering and just feed your queen!" She spoke. "It has been years since I've dined on human."

"As you wish, your majesty." came the reply from all the Dokugumon.

Two of the Dokugumon climbed to the ceiling to retrieve the main course. Each grabbed one end of the web and began the walk across the room. She struggled, giving her captors a hard time.

"Music!" ordered the queen. Her subjects bowed and a drum beat spread throughout the room, only scaring Erika more.

She kicked and screamed, but it didn't stop the Dokugumon…until a small green tornado hit one's hands, that is.

"D-Stryker Activate!" yelled a voice barging into the room. The owner of the voice was Daichi, holding out his D-Stryker as the golden blades of light emerged from the top and bottom.

"Bunny Blast!" Terriermon ran onto the scene, opening her mouth and launching a ball of green energy from it. The blast shot across the room and hit one of the Dokugumon carrying Erika.

"Get them! I want that human on my plate as well!" came the command from the queen of the Dokugumon.

"What are these things?" Daichi and Terriermon descended the entrance ramp into the room and came face to face with four of the spider digimon.

"They're Dokugumon. They are arachnid digimon that live in colonies. They'll follow any order given to them by their queen."

"Well then, let's not meddle with these peasants. Go for the big money!" said Daichi as he evaded one Dokugumon and ran around another.

"Daichi!" Erika yelled, happy to the furthest extent to see a fellow human.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here." said her partner. "Terrier Tornado!" Terriermon spun her body, creating a green tornado, and with a smack of the ears, set it speeding toward a Dokugumon holding Erika.

"Don't even think you're getting away from us." the four Dokugumon chased after Daichi and Terriermon closing in on them and launching small sticky webs.

Daichi avoided them and Erika's carriers. He lifted up his lance and cut the web holding Erika, while Terriermon distracted the two Dokugumon.

"Here, take this." Daichi handed Erika her D-Stryker.

"Thanks, this will come in handy." replied the brunette.

"Poison Thread!" said the Dokugumon as they launched a purple web from their mouth at Daichi. He easily sliced it with his lance.

"D-Stryker Activate!" Erika held out her green and white D-Stryker horizontally. A green arc of light came out of each side. Then green arrows of light emerged alongside it. She aimed one at an oncoming spider digimon, pulled back and launched it. "Arrows of Spirit!"

The arrow of green light sped forward and hit a Dokugumon head on. The arrow went through the digimon's head and it exploded into data on contact.

_/These things won't be that hard to defeat./I_she thought to herself.

"Get back here, you brat!" said one of the Dokugumon chasing Daichi.

"To be spiders, you guys run pretty slowly." he replied, only infuriating the Dokugumon even more. He slashed at the digimon, slicing two of it's legs off.

"Venom Blast!" The Dokugumon called out, shooting a pink ooze out of its mouth at the human. It hit his left arm.

"Ouch! That _hurt_!" Daichi grabbed his left arm and rubbed off the ooze. "Lucky for you that I'm right-handed." He pulled back with his Lance of Valor and slashed at the Dokugumon, cutting the digimon in half. It then burst into data.

"That's three down and three to go!' exclaimed Terriermon as another Dokugumon burst into data upon being hit with numerous Bunny Blasts.

Suddenly the queen of the Dokugumon burst out into laughter. "Do you think that's all? What kind of queen do you take me for?"

The room began to shake. A hole came from each wall and out poured dozens of Dokugumon. Daichi, Erika and Terriermon grouped together in the center of the room.

"What are we going to do?" Erika asked.

"Certainly not fight. We need to get out of here!" said Terriermon.

"You said that the Dokugumon always follow their queen's orders, correct?" Daichi questioned.

"Yes."

"Then I say we take out the queen."

"We don't have time for that, Daichi!" exclaimed Terriermon, "There are tons of Dokugumon coming!"

"There's no way we can even get to the queen. There's a sea of spiders between us and her." said Erika.

"What about Terriermon's attacks and your arrows?"

"Terriermon's don't have that kind of range and I doubt my arrows can make it that far. Now let's go!" Erika grabbed Daichi's arm and urged him towards the tunnel in which they came. The Dokugumon began gaining on them. Erika fired a few arrows and Daichi slashed at them, holding them off for only a few moments.

They reached the top of the entrance ramp, but Daichi stopped and yelled at Erika. "Just shoot the queen!"

"It won't make it!" she protested.

"Just do it!"

Without anyone noticing, Erika's D-Stryker's screen began to glow and the arrow that Erika pulled back on elongated. She turned her head and let go, nervous on the outcome. The arrow shot across the room faster than any other arrow Erika had ever launched. The queen didn't even have a second to dodge it as it hit her in the middle of her glowing red eyes. She let out a sickening yell as she exploded into data bits that went through the ceiling. A black shadow separated from the data particles and went into the ceiling as well.

The remaining Dokugumon immediately stopped. They were thrown into confusion as they watched their queen die. The trio of heroes took advantage of this and ran through the tunnel. They came to the room where Daichi and Terriermon had originally fell through. The hole in the ceiling revealed that the sun was now rising and the sky was a bright yellow. Daichi searched and found a ramp leading to the surface. They all raced up and were happy to once again see the grass and trees. But they didn't stop running. Stopping now would give the pursuing a chance to catch up to them.

Finally they made it back to their camp and all fell over from exhaustion.

"Now…can we sleep?" Daichi jokingly asked.

"I'm afraid we can't." said Terriermon.

"What?! I just had the scariest night of my life." said Erika.

"Erika, if we sleep here it will only make it easier for the Dokugumon to get you again. We need to get out of this forest."

"I suppose you're right." said Daichi. "but that doesn't make it anymore enjoyable."

Erika gathered her tent back into the can, folded the blankets and put everything back into her bag. Daichi tried to assist but only got in the way. Terriermon sat and watch the humans interacting. They'd just saved one another's lives, yet a half hour later still bickered.

Upon finishing packing, Daichi opened the map function on his D-Stryker and led the way through the forest.

"Onward to Primary Village!"

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End file.
